A grille shutter actuator is used to open and close louvers of a shutter to control airflow to a heat exchanger or other cooling module. Grille shutters are increasingly being used in vehicles to control the airflow to the various heat exchangers of the vehicle, such as the radiator and the condenser of an air-conditioner. The grille shutters save fuel and thus money by improving the aerodynamics of the vehicle by closing the grille or air intakes when the vehicle is traveling at high speed and engine cooling is not required. Also, by closing the air intakes when the engine is cold, the engine reaches operating temperature faster, where it runs more economically and with less pollution. A dual drive grille shutter actuator has two symmetrical output shafts for driving two sets of shutter louvers located on opposite sides of the actuator. The angle formed between the two output shafts determines the angle of the two sets of shutter louvers. In current dual drive grille shutter actuators, the two output shafts are generally parallel to each other. Thus, the two sets of shutter louvers driven by the current dual drive grille shutter actuators must be parallel to each other. Such dual drive grille shutter actuators are suitable only for a limited range of grille shutters. Currently, grille shutters with sets of louvers that are not co-planar, require the use of individual actuators, increasing the weight and cost of the grille shutter assembly.
Thus, there is a desire for a dual drive actuator for a grille shutter that is suitable for use with a variety of grille shutters.